If you use generative AI tools for assignments, academic work, or published writing, ensure you properly acknowledge and cite the AI-generated content. Always check with your instructor before using AI for coursework.
Citation norms for AI-generated content are evolving, and major style guides offer preliminary guidelines. Publishers may have their own rules.
Key principles for citing AI-generated content include:
Remember, citations serve to credit the original creator and help others find your sources. Use these principles when deciding how to cite AI-generated content.
Author
We do not recommend treating the AI tool as an author. This recommendation follows the policies developed by various publishers, including the MLA’s journal PMLA.
Title of Source
Describe what was generated by the AI tool. This may involve including information about the prompt in the Title of Source element if you have not done so in the text.
Title of Container
Use the Title of Container element to name the AI tool (e.g., ChatGPT).
Version
Name the version of the AI tool as specifically as possible. For example, the examples in this post were developed using ChatGPT 3.5, which assigns a specific date to the version, so the Version element shows this version date.
Publisher
Name the company that made the tool.
Date
Give the date the content was generated.
Location
Give the general URL for the tool.
A template for an MLA citation is as follows: "The prompt you used" prompt. AI platform, version, company, date of your prompt, URL.
A sample of an MLA citation is as follows: “Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.
For additional information, including additional examples of ChatGPT citations, see the MLA Style Center.
When you cite AI-generated content using APA style, you should treat that content as the output of an algorithm, with the author of the content being the company or organization that created the model. For example, when citing ChatGPT, the author would be OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT.
Here are some guidelines for referencing AI-generated content in APA style:
When referencing shorter passages of text, you can include that text directly in your paper. You might also include an appendix or link to an online supplement that includes the full text of long responses from a generative AI tool.
Format:
Author. (Date). Name of tool (Version of tool) [Large language model]. URL
Example:
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
In-Text Citation Example:
(OpenAI, 2023)
Chicago style requires that you cite AI-generated content in your work by including either a note or a parenthetical citation, but advises you not to include that source in your bibliography or reference list. The reason given for this is that, because you cannot provide a link to the conversation or session with the AI tool, you should tread that content as you would a phone call or private conversation. However, AI tools are starting to introduce functionality that does allow a user to generate a sharable link to a chat conversation, so this guidance from the Chicago Manual of Style may change.
Here are some general guidelines for referencing AI-generated content in Chicago style:
Format: 1. Author, Title, Publisher, Date, url for the tool.
Example (if information about the prompt has been included within the text of your paper):
1. Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat.
Example (including information about the prompt):
1. ChatGPT, response to "Explain how to make pizza dough from common household ingredients," OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat.
